Bremerton School District Hoping to Make Montessori Program a Reality

A free Montessori program for grades first through third will open at Naval Avenue Early Learning Center in the Bremerton School District in the fall if enough children are registered.

The school district needs 25 kids to make the program financially self-sustaining. Parents who are interested can register their children beginning on Tuesday at the district’s special programs office, at 134 Marion Ave.

Linda Sullivan-Dudzic, BSD’s special programs director, said district leaders hope the program brings students who are home-schooled or who attend school in a neighboring district or a private school, back into BSD.

Montessori is an alternative method of learning based on all five senses. Children in multi-age groups learn at an individual pace and choose activities to enrich their learning. Central Kitsap School District offers the only other public Montessori in Kitsap County. It’s housed at Jackson Park Elementary School.

Superintendent Flip Herndon pledged when he was hired as the new BSD leader last year to provide more special programs to bring students into the district, especially as enrollment falls.

“He wants options for families. He wants to attract our own families into Bremerton because we have families choosing other school districts,” Sullivan-Dudzic said. “At the same time he’s said it needs to pay for itself.”

The district receives funding from the state on a per-pupil basis. Funding for 25 students will provide enough money to pay for a teacher. The district will hire a fully certified, highly qualified Montessori instructor. Special equipment needed for Montessori will have to be purchased. The district’s plan includes the need for the parents of the Montessori students to raise enough money to buy the appropriate materials.

The Naval Avenue site is currently home to Advantage Montessori Preschool, a private school that leases space there. Parents from that program in particular have asked for a way to continue their children’s Montessori education through elementary school, Sullivan-Dudzic said. Anne Lahey, who owns Advantage, will lease materials and equipment to the district for the new program. She will also serve on the steering committee.

“It’s the families that have come forward and said we would really like Montessori. The majority are home schooling or looking for Montessori programs in other places,” she added.